The Thing About Love
by Anki-Shai
Summary: When it hits you it teaches you to be patient, to overlook the wrong doings, to trust when you thought you would never be able to, to protect those you care about and to hope.


**Author's Note: **

Hello, as you can see this is a new story under the Kung Fu Panda category. It is kind of new to me writing this kind of story but after watching KFP2 I couldn't stop thinking about it so I decided to write away and just publish it. If you haven't seen the movie and don't want any spoilers, then it would be better if you don't read it because I do mention some things that happen in the second movie.

I kind of fall in love with the whole Po/Tigress interaction, it was beyond cute and kind of touching. Either if it is friendship or romantic relationship I think it's just ...well, cute. So thinking about that special interaction this story was born. Read it, enjoy it and don't forget to comment. I really wanna know what you guys think about this story.

Before I forget, English isn't my native language so I apologize beforehand for my grammar, spelling or any other funny mistakes you may find in here. Feel free to lend me a hand with all of this if you can. Just, don't be rude about it.

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><p><strong>The Thing about Love<strong>

If someone ask you right now how or why it happen you wouldn't have an answer for them.

The thing about this new-found form of love is that, it doesn't matter how intense it is, how strong and overwhelming it feels. You will never have a way to explain it or even rationalized it.

You do know, however, that you start feeling strange around him from a very long time. Little changes here and there, for example the way your heart would speed up as he approaches you, or how you would stop breathing as he smiles at you. Maybe how there would be a shiver traveling down your back as the both of you brush against each other.

It was all too casual. Nothing too deep, and yet you can tell it is different. You have been living with Crane, Monkey and Mantis far longer than with Po and none of them make you feel _that_ particular way.

You heard once in one of the missions with the other Five that love is blind; you can't manipulate it or even try and order it around. Some part of your mind is always telling you how wrong your feelings are. He is a Panda you are a Tiger. Really? It can't be more different than that.

And yet…

The thing about love is…it doesn't matter how wrong people say it is, or how painful it can be; Love goes beyond any kind of mortal measurement. You are very lucky to at least feel it.

Of course, you would be even luckier if the one you love return those feelings.

It would make the wrongness and pain more bearable if you know _he_ loves you back.

This, of course, is not an easy task.

Po is an open book with his feelings; you can tell he admires you and the others. He even loves you all, as friends, as family. But sometimes you think he isn't ready or even aware of how deep your affections run.

You, and the Furious Five, are his heroes. He grew up thinking about all of you; imagining someday he would be side-by-side with you fighting for justice.

Now that he has accomplished his dream he is even more open with those feelings. You know he loves you, but you don't know if he is _in_ love with you.

That's why you remain silent and just support him whenever he needs it. He is still, in so many ways, a little kid making his dream a reality.

He always has time for all of you and you can tell as you watch him (stalk him would be more appropriate) he doesn't realize he is part of the Furious Five (eh, six?). He stops being the annoying panda that fall from the sky and is now the Dragon Warrior, a fellow Kung Fu Master. A friend.

You can see the gleam of amazement in his eyes as Mantis teaches him some acupuncture. Or the way he tries really hard to train with Viper in her favorite arena. Or how Monkey would trade some of his cookies for two bowls of noodle soup. Or when Crane decides to teach him calligraphy. He can't understand, but he really appreciates, the fact all of them, and even you, take time of your own schedule to spend with him.

He doesn't get it yet he is one of you.

He doesn't notice how the others look up at him the same way he does them.

It is cute and some part of you growls in annoyance. You just didn't thought it was cute. You never think about the word cute unless is to…to think about Po.

So, okay, sometimes you do think about cute and happiness and love and all those fluffy and fuzzy things Viper sometimes babbles about.

You can't help it. Even after more than 20 years of training and trying to conceal your feelings behind a hard exterior you are still a girl. A girl looking to be loved.

As you watch Po re-tell Crane, Monkey, Mantis and Viper how he survives the cannonball and what happen afterwards you wonder if Po would ever be ready to experience love. The kind you are so willing to offer.

When you heard him speak about the pain he felt when the cannonball hit him you remember the pain you felt when you thought you lose him. You remember the fear and the hopefulness, the lack of will or fight in you left as soon as you realize he may be dead.

You wince making Viper look at you with curious eyes you dismiss pretty quickly. Even if you are ready to admit to yourself you feel something for Po, you are no way ready to admit it to anyone else.

And then you have to wonder again: does he feel for you the way you feel for him?

You tilt your head, narrowing your eyes making him squirm nervously as he explains and apologizes at the same time for not obeying and going after Shen even after they, _she,_ ask him not to.

His eyes lock with yours and then you see a flicker of _something._ An emotion familiar, yet unknown to you. There is something there but you are scare too look deeper.

Not yet.

There are still a lot of things you need to sort out. There are still a lot of things you need to understand before you decide to take a chance and go for what your heart really wants.

As you growl and threaten him with a well-deserve ass-kicking for putting you and the others under so much stress, you realize it is okay.

For now you are just happy with being his friend. And you know that, at least for him, it's the best thing ever that he can call you his friend.

There would be time for another kind of relationship. Right?

There is always time for anything.

And as you look into his eyes and discover that mischievous gleam in his eyes, the one he has just before doing some kind of prank or dare Crane or Mantis out him to, you notice once again that familiar yet scarily unknown emotion in his eyes.

You realize that maybe; some part of him does feel the same way.

But maybe he isn't ready to move onto those feelings.

Just as you aren't ready to admit them out loud.

That's fine by you. You can wait. You have all the time in the world. And even if nothing happens you will always be there.

Because, you know? Even as hardcore as you are…the thing about love is…

When it hits you it teaches you to be patient, to overlook the wrong doings, to trust when you thought you would never be able to, to protect those you care about and to hope.

Yeah, even as hardcore as you are. You still feel something. But Po doesn't need to know that. Not yet anyway.

_"That's severely cool."_

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><p><em>Hope you enjoy and comment. Tell me what you think.<em>

_*Oh, by the way, the last line was said by Po in one of the movies scene after Tigress explains to him why she can't feel anything on her paws._


End file.
